Horsepower frenzy at ‘Fletchers Smash Repairs’ new facility.

Matt Linney
Tuesday, 01 May 2018 09:22

'Fletchers Smash Repairs' New Facility

The all-new facade of the Fletchers Smash Repairs (FSR) building was barely visible, given the large number of visitors covering every available patch of Kiln Street in Malaga for its grand opening on Friday the 27th of April.

The team at FSR brought together some of the motoring industry’s biggest names to help celebrate the grand opening of their advanced new panel beating and repair facility. From the assessment & preparation bays to the painting and mixing areas - the time, effort and money that’s been invested into the facility have formed a welcoming environment for their team and clients. It has the visual organisation of a hospital surgery wing, with a well-designed (re)production line that takes a client’s battered baby and resurrects it back to its polished prime. The team hosted a grand opening day, not just to showcase their facility but to allow the motoring community to engage with each other in a setting that included extreme performance vehicles, rides for kids, demonstrations and fantastic hospitality.

Upon entry, the lure of Cafe2U coffee and mouth-watering food proved too irresistible to pass up for most attendees. Once the hunger had settled, the eye-catching and completely customised “super-stretch” Holden Caprice was the first attention stealing car visitors were treated to. Seating 10 in celebrity levels of specification, Jonathon Freedman from A-Class Chauffeured Services had adults and kids alike fascinated with his black beast.

After having a brief celebrity experience, the next move was into the immaculately presented panel prep-bay area of the workshop, with floor and wall paint so fresh that your shoes and hands could stick to it. The real grip, however, was on the rubber of the AC Cobra parked in prep-bay 2. The body paint was the kind of red that would make a Ferrari shiver in envy. Loaded with a fully-stroked, LPG-injected 351 Windsor, Edelbrock intake manifold, an LSD to handle the power and a Supra gearbox, it should come as no surprise that it’s the baby of Jonathon Freedman, who co-owns the super-stretch Caprice!

Next on the menu was Cameron Sinclair & the team at Honda North’s tarmac eating 2018 Honda Civic Type R. Being the fastest front wheel drive passenger car to have lapped the Nürburgring – it’s an engineering masterpiece and is part of the suite of products that are proving that Honda is well and truly back in the sports car game.

The Hyundai i30N (in every way) represents what a 'sports car for the road' should be. With tens of thousands of kilometres of testing on some of the most demanding tracks and proving grounds in the world (including the Nürburgring) and Pirelli tyres specifically matched to the i30N alone, this is not just a sports car; it’s a sports car that you can drive as spiritedly as you like and never have to worry about whether it will break or not. If you’re not convinced, perhaps you should refer to Hyundai’s “non-competition” track warranty, which allows you to thump your i30N around a track and not void your 5 year warranty. The N badge is more than marketing hype, believe it!

In prep-bay 5 was the all-new Toyota Camry Hybrid supplied by New Town Toyota.Before you ask “what’s a hybrid doing there?” Consider this: with a claimed 95 octane fuel economy of 4.2L/100km, at today’s prices you’ll be paying just over $6 per 100km of driving in what is a practical, useable car that’s just a few dimes over $33,000. So now you can have that weekend sports car, 4x4, jet ski, motorbike or boat that you’ve dreamed of because you’re not pouring all of your money into your daily driver. Having sold 80,000 hybrids in Australia as of 2017, Toyota Australia has paved the way for such vehicles in the country.

On the topic of Hybrids, the Hyundai IONIQ is so fresh off the cargo ship that you probably haven’t seen one yet. We’ll fill you in on the ‘need to knows’….It’s a practical ‘liftback’ available with 3 types of powertrains. The first (available now) is the Hybrid Petrol-Electric version, the second is the forthcoming plug-in hybrid electric (PHEV) and the third will be the pure electric version (EV). The latter two models are due later this year. Demand in South Korea for the pure electric version has been very high, so be prepared to pre-order one if you want a piece of the pure EV action before anyone else gets. The most important thing to note here is that Hyundai has provided a solution to cater for most use cases of electric or electrically assisted motoring. Whether you want range longevity or pure electricity, it’s great to have every mainstream drivetrain option offered in one model.

The arctic white BMW X5 3.0D and Audi S3 took care of the German representation at FSR, perfectly placed under the cool luminescence of the bright white lights in the preparation bays. The S3 uses its all-wheel-drive grip to rocket the 2.0-litre turbocharged sedan to 100km/h in 4.8 seconds (roughly the same as a twin-turbo V6 Kia Stinger for rear wheel drive fanatics). The X5 uses its X-Drive all-wheel-drive system to deliver some of the best SUV handling you’re likely to find, as well as the smarts to hone power to the individual wheels that need it during any phase of driving, thanks to its computer systems that can make more calculations per second than NASA.

Bayswater Mazda supplied a fully ‘kitted out’ Mazda BT-50 4x4 King Cab, showing off Mazda genuine and approved parts that have been engineered to work with the vehicles’ safety and electronic systems. Sidesteps, snorkel, sports bar, wheels, tonneau cover and LightForce spotlights…it was all blacker than your room when you’re trying to find the light switch at 3 am. Mazda has been instrumental in developing accessories as well as working with preferred suppliers to offer the best that the OEM and aftermarket manufacturers have to offer.

A touch of philanthropy provided kids with some excitement in the form of the Toy Story 4 themed,Variety Club Bash prepared 1985 Mercedes Benz 500SE driven by Graham Martin (of Seat Belt SolutionsWelshpool) and Paul Bruno as part of the iconic children’s charity fundraising “safari”. Many fellow automotive businesses chipped in to raise nearly $5000 on the duo’s “Go Fund Me” page, with many more dollars raised during the expedition.

As well as slot car racing, kids also had the opportunity to go for a ride in a police vehicle. It was anything but a paddywagon; this open air, the fun-enforcement police kart was loaded with blue and red flashing lights and an inviting bench seat. It served as the little sibling to the much bigger, brute-force Beat the Heat “Tango 4” VF SS Commodore drag racer. Imagine a child running a 400m athletics track. Now imagine that child sprinting that distance in nearly the same time it takes Usain Bolt to run 100m. That puts in to perspective just how fast this machine can take on 400m from a standstill.

Perched together in bays 5 & 6 were two unlikely friends in the form of a road-to-rally hero, the Mitsubishi Evo X and the four-door muscle maniac, the HJ Monaro. Both have four doors, both are iconic – but neither could be more different with respect to their cult following. Needless to say, it’s fantastic to see motoring enthusiasts from all walks of life at these events.

Finally, for the modern trendsetters, McInerney Ford provided a first-hand taste of their Mustang GT Fastback, finished in “triple yellow”. With the 2018 refresh on its way, they can expect their order books to continue filling! You’ve probably seen plenty on the road, but getting an interior view and sitting in the saddle of the ‘pony’ was definitely a new experience for most in attendance.

Events like these are not only a great way to showcase what’s happening within the motor trade industry, it’s an almost fail-proof way to get likeminded individuals together to enjoy their shared passion. We’d encourage any member holding an event to get in contact with us so we can be a part of and cover your motoring events! Thanks to all the FSR team and the sponsors and car donors on the day for putting together the event.

MTA WA’s events department can be contacted viaThis email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.